My pastor shared a powerful truth recently. He asked what the opposite of praise was. We might assume it is complaining. Yet, he presented a pretty compelling case that it is in fact pride.

For what keeps us from praising others? At its root, pride typically pulls us back from generously promoting others. After all, we like being the one promoted, and if we are busy promoting others, we may dilute getting the attention we desire.

Convicting? Thankfully, we can all do something about it – like being confident and humble enough to sincerely and genuinely promote others and sing their praises. To reach a point in our faith that we are so grounded and content in Christ that we can freely give without any regard for what we get.

While we’re at it – how about praising God? We can’t forget Him – for do we freely give Him recognition and promotion without hesitation? For as we know, all good things come from Him.

Sharing praises helps smash our pride – and humility and kindness are always refreshing gifts to spread around.

How about at work? It’s been said that the best way to promote your own career is to promote the careers of others. Yet, how often is the opposite done? Tearing down others never helps anyone, and rarely wins favor for the criticizer.

Seeking to give our best, and be at our best, includes how we treat others, and confidence, not arrogance, is always more appreciated and valued over negativity.

So, let’s be wise enough and confident enough to start a genuine and sincere promotion locomotion. Look for ways to celebrate others successes and promote their efforts. It’s a rare encouragement we can give in today’s world and a refreshing change indeed to spread around.